Muirhead Tower location: The University of Birmingham Project Size

 Muirhead Tower
location: The University of Birmingham
Project Size:
•
•
Floor Space: 12,925 sq m
Land Area: 0.1 h
Muirhead Tower was deisgned by Sir Philip Dowson of Arup Associates and
was completed in 1969 as the Arts and Commerce Building. The iconic tower
building with its expressed concrete structure and podium had become beset
with technical problems, resultuing in its enclosure in scaffolding for over 20
years.
Associated Architect was appointed to refurbish Muirhead Tower to
accommodate the College of Social Sciences and the Cadbury Research
Sciences and the Cadbury Research Library, which houses the special
collections and archives of the University of Birmingham. The key challenge
was to do so being sensitive to the original concept whilst creating new
dynamic teaching and learning environment that would re-vitalise the building
in its location at the heart of the campus.
The University’s aspiration in a competing Higher Educational market place
was to provide staff and students with the best working environment,
acknowledging the constraints of the existing building. The college of social
sciences required the provision of academic offices learning and meeting
spaces and in addition there are a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate
learning and teaching spaces contained with two twelve story towers.
The building’s podium was refurbished and extended to accommodate a 200seat lecture, new exhibition and display space, reception and a 120-seat café
space.
A key component of the refurbishment was the restoration of the problematic
envelope. The existing dramatic concrete structure was repaired and the
original windows of the two towers were replaced with a bespoke double
glazed curtain-wailing system, which matched the profiles and setting out of
the original. Bespoke brise soleil veils of metal and glass were introduced to
the south façade of the two towers to prevent solar gain and to present a new
architectural aesthetic for the building to the rest of campus.
The central circulation core was remodelled to extend the existing staircase
and create new toilet accommodation, clad with stainless steel rain-screen
panels and extended to clad the new podium café structure and two new
external lifts.